Where Does NVIDIA Come In?

The trouble with Larrabee is that it's a new microarchitecture which would take a lot of time to get to market. It would also require a new version of DirectX to work with.

However, Intel cannot wait that long. They aren't doing so hot these days either, with slumping sales due to the global economic downturn. They need to get Larrabee out sooner. This is where NVIDIA comes in.

Intel will integrate NVIDIA's GPU technology into the Larrabee processor as a graphics co-processor. The idea is to allow Larrabee to ship earlier with a usable graphics core.

The integrated NVIDIA graphics co-processor will readily support current drivers and DirectX 10 games, allowing the Larrabee processor to support 3D graphics acceleration right out of the box. The co-processor can also be used to process non-graphics data, like physics calculations, when used with PhysX-enabled applications or games.

This integration of an NVIDIA graphics core is said to cut down Larrabee development time tremendously. In fact, Intel intends to have a working sample of an 8-core Larrabee processor with an integrated NVIDIA co-processor by end of 2009.

The first Larrabee processor will likely be launched in early 2010 as a 8-core processor built on the 32nm process technology. It will have an NVIDIA graphics co-processor with 256 stream processors. This would be followed up by lower-end quad-core processors with less powerful NVIDIA graphics co-processors (192 or 128 stream processors).

What About The Larrabee Cores?

The Larrabee cores will still be graphics-capable, at least when it comes to the hardware. However, you will not be able to make use of that capability out of the box. It may require a microcode update or a new version of DirectX or new drivers. But when the capability is unlocked, the Larrabee will be able to make use of both the NVIDIA graphics co-processor and its own processor cores to process graphics data.

According to Intel documents, enabling the Larrabee's graphics capability will at least double its 3D graphics performance when used together with the NVIDIA co-processor. However, Intel will downplay this aspect as it is unlikely to be "activated" until much later. This is due to compatibility problems between the Intel and NVIDIA driver code bases.

For marketing purposes, early Larrabee models will likely have their graphics capabilities disabled, relying only on the NVIDIA co-processor.

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